Ruginiene calls ethics probe over Vatican, Italy visits a standard procedure

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene on Tuesday described as a "routine process" the Chief Official Ethics Commission’s decision to launch an investigation into her trips to Italy and the Vatican.

"We view the Chief Official Ethics Commission's decision to launch an investigation as a routine process that will allow for an objective answer to the questions that continue to arise. In pursuit of full clarity and transparency, we ourselves appealed to the Chief Official Ethics Commission, asking for an assessment of the practice of forming official delegations and its compliance with the current legal framework," the prime minister’s spokesman, Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas, said.

According to Dobrovolskas, under the Law on the Government, the prime minister is authorized to form government delegations for official visits, with their composition determined by decrees.

"In international practice, in certain cases, family members of heads of state are included in delegations when protocol requires it. It is important to note that such decisions are not related to the satisfaction of private interests, but rather to ensure proper representation of the state. We also noted that similar practice is applied in the case of other highest state leaders, the president and the speaker of the Seimas," he said.

"We hope that he Chief Official Ethics Commission's assessment will help to define this practice even more clearly," he added.

The ethics watchdog took up the issue following an appeal from Agne Sirinskiene, a politician from the Democratic Union "For Lithuania."

Ruginiene visited the Vatican and Rome from March 6-8, traveling with her entire family. The Government Chancellery announced it would cover their travel expenses, stating that the family would be performing state functions during the assignment.

Sirinskiene’s appeal concerned the prime minister’s order appointing her spouse as a member of the delegation and granting accompanying person status to their two children.

In her appeal, Sirinskiene cited the Law on Harmonization of Public and Private Interests, which requires a decision-maker to recuse themselves from decisions affecting their own or relatives interests or from decisions that could bring personal benefit.

"By signing an order related to the trip of her close persons, her husband and children, as part of a state delegation, and by making a decision to cover the costs of this trip from the state budget, Ruginiene confused public and private interests and did not recuse herself as required by Article 11 of the Law on Harmonization of Public and Private Interests," the appeal stated.

The parliamentarian also raised concerns about Ruginiene's visit to Italy with her husband during the opening of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.